The refinery will not lay off any employees, said Pat Avery, Total's administrative manager.

The refinery employs almost 600 people, and it hired 60 new operators between November and January, Avery said.

The shutdown will take 72 hours, ending late Friday afternoon.

Avery would not comment on the duration of the shutdown at the 232,000-barrel capacity refinery.

"We're a merchant refiner," Avery said Tuesday. "Our product is sold to the best customers that want to buy it. When you don't have marketing, you have to be very agile, flexible. You adjust to the market."

She said, however, the refinery's expansion project is continuing and should be complete on schedule.

The refinery in January unveiled two 404-ton coke drums, the centerpieces of its $2.2 billion Deep Conversion Project.

Michel Benezit, Total's president of refining and marketing worldwide, said at the unveiling that this year would be difficult for everyone including the oil industry because demand for fuel products will be down.

"We didn't expect the downturn to be so low," Benezit said then of the economy.

"The business is cyclical," Avery said. "It's not always great, not always bad. We manage our business that way. That's why we're going ahead with the (Deep Conversion Project). It will not slow down."

Total reported an "emissions event" to the state environmental commission as part of this shutdown.

The event will result in emissions in excess of its permits, the refinery reported.

For example, the refinery is limited to small amounts of hydrogen sulfide releases, such as 0.04 pounds per hour from one of its units.

But the company estimates the shutdown will release 29,058 pounds in 72 hours or more than 403 pounds an hour from that one unit.

At another unit, for which it is allowed 1.06 pounds per hour of hydrogen sulfide releases, it will emit 1,731 pounds or 24 pounds per hour.

Hydrogen sulfide, in enclosed areas, is potentially fatal.

When Total operated as the Fina Oil and Chemical Co. refinery, it emitted large amounts of hydrogen sulfide into what was then called the Fairlea Addition neighborhood.

Residents in September 1991 reported feeling nauseated because of refinery emissions, The Enterprise had reported then.

The refinery had reported problems with a then-new sulfur recovery unit.

At one of the units, Total estimated sulfur dioxide emissions in excess of 785,000 pounds. It is permitted emissions of 4.13 pounds per hour from that unit.

Avery would not comment on the report to the state environmental commission.

The conversion project is expected to boost the refinery's ability to process high-sulfur crude, a cheaper variant of petroleum that also will allow it to add three million tons per year of ultra-low sulfur automotive diesel to its present production.

When finished, Total will have an annual output of 12 million tons of refined product per year.

Total, headquartered in France, is one of the world's major oil and gas groups, with activities in more than 130 counties. In the United States, the company has 7,500 employees in 18 operating subsidiaries with 74 sites in 29 states. ???????????????